atta news · 2020-05-19 · atta news volume 1 issue ay 2020 issue highlights “taxation is the...
TRANSCRIPT
ATTA NEWSVolume 19 | Issue 5
May 2020
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
“Taxation is the price which civilized communities pay for the opportunity of remaining civilized.”
- Albert Bushnell Hart
ATTA News Editor:
Colin FongTeaching Fellow
UNSW Law, [email protected]
Assistant Editor:Supriya Eliezer
Production Design:
Stephanie Bruce and Annette MorganCurtin University
01 | PRESIDENTIAL COLUMN
02 | ATTA’S 33RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE
03 | ARRIVALS, DEPARTURES AND HONOURS
04 | ATTA PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA
05 | ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE: COVID-19
06 | BULLETIN BOARD
07 | IFA COMPETITIONS 2020
08 | TAX LAW DEVELOPMENTS
09 | TAX AND RELATED MEETINGS
10 | RECENT PUBLICATIONS
11 | CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
12 | BOOK REVIEW: FUNDAMENTALS OF INCOME TAXATION
13 | QUOTABLE QUOTES
2
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
Hello and welcome to the May ATTA Newsletter.
This column is written from my dining room table as we move into week seven of NZ lockdown. This month we welcome Supriya Eliezer who has joined Colin Fong in the role of Assistant Editor of the ATTA News.
It is hard to keep up with all the additional tax funded expenditure and initiatives in New Zealand. I’m sure Australia is the same. To name just a few since my last column, we have one-year interest free loans up to $100,000 for NZ small businesses impacted by COVID-19; a temporary loss carry-back scheme; relief measures introduced relating to the insolvency trading laws, including the temporary safe harbour protection and business debt hibernation; financial support for regional businesses; and remission of interest and penalties on late payment of tax. This is all prior to the budget, due
to be announced on 14 May, which is being referred to as a “recovery budget”. There is certainly no shortage of tax innovation and policy changes to inform or motivate our research.
Congratulations to Ian Murray on his promotion as Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and to Keith Kendall on his appointments as the full-time Chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, as a part-time member of the Financial Reporting Council and a member of the NZ Accounting Standards Board. See item 3 for more details.
While it is encouraging to see the proposal of a trans-Tasman bubble, of course, our ATTA community extends across the globe. I hope you and your families and friends are keeping well and safe wherever in the world you are located.
All the best,
Lisa
Lisa MarriottPresident – ATTA
01 | PRESIDENTIAL COLUMN
President’s Note
02 | ATTA’S 33RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The 33rd Annual ATTA conference will be hosted by the University of Canterbury (UC) Business School at the UC from 20 to 22 January 2021 in Christchurch, New Zealand. It will be held at Rydges Latimer in the Christchurch CBD, rather than at the UC. Bookings for a limited number of discounted rooms can be made direct to Rydges Latimer here.
The welcome reception will be held at the International Antarctic Centre near Christchurch International Airport, with the conference dinner at the Great Hall at the Arts Centre in the CBD (part of UC’s campus before it moved out of the city during the 1960-70s). A farewell BBQ will be held at Rydges Latimer at the conclusion of the conference.
The theme is - The Future of Tax: More than Just Politics?
Due to COVID-19 we are monitoring the impact this may have on hosting the conference in Christchurch in 2021. We will provide further updates as we know more.
More details will follow over the coming months.
Adrian Sawyer ([email protected]) Andrew Maples ([email protected])
Alistair Hodson ([email protected]) Robert Vosslamber ([email protected])
Shelley Griffiths ([email protected])
3
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
03 | ARRIVALS, DEPARTURES AND HONOURS
Welcome and FarewellJagdeep Singh-Ladhar is currently a Lecturer in Taxation at Auckland Business School, University of Auckland. Prior to that she was an Assistant Lecturer and Teaching Fellow at the Waikato Management School, University of Waikato. During her time at Waikato she was involved in teaching the core law course on sustainability, ethics and the legal system. From 2013, she was the primary lecturer for the taxation course. Jagdeep is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. She has published in the eJournal of Tax Research and New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and Policy. She also has chapters in the Law of Marketing, Foundations of New Zealand Taxation Law, and her own forthcoming text on New Zealand Water Allocation Law. Her research interests focus on the nexus between tax and sustainability.
Congratulations
Rosheen Garnon was appointed as the new permanent Chair of the Board of Taxation on 31 March 2020. Rosheen was a former national partner of KPMG’s Australian taxation division.
Congratulations to Ian Murray on his promotion as Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia at the end of 2019.
The Australian federal government has appointed Dr Keith Kendall as the full-time Chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) for a five-year period from 3 May 2020, as a part-time member of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for a five-year period commencing from the date of his appointment to the AASB and a member of the NZ Accounting Standards Board. See Assistant Treasurer’s Press Release.
Sally Joseph is now Production Editor for the Australian Tax Forum, with the printing still done by the Tax Institute.
04 | ATTA PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA
Robert Deutsch
• Khadem, Nassim ‘Australia doesn’t have a death tax, but someone has to pay your bills after you die’ ABC News, 9 December 2019
• Hughes, Duncan ‘Expat CGT deadline enforced’ AFR Weekend – Australian Financial Review 9-10 May 2020 p 29
4
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
For approved course providers who are unable to meet the requirements of Option 1 or Option 2, the TPB will consider the use of other alternative assessment arrangements on a case by case basis.
Further, under Option 3, the approved course provider is expected to meet the conditions set out in Option 1, other than the requirement regarding independent supervision.
For consideration of alternative assessment arrangements under Option 3, contact [email protected] and ensure that your email includes the following information:
• Outline of alternative assessment arrangement.• Details of how the alternative assessment arrangement meets the conditions set out in Option 1 (other than the
requirement regarding independent supervision).• Numbers of students impacted or expected to be impacted. • Any other relevant information.
The TPB will consider submissions as a matter of priority and notify you of the outcome as soon as possible.
Where Option 1 does not offer a practicable solution for approved course providers, the TPB will accept alternate assessments supervised through software driven invigilation (including utilising anti-plagiarism software). The
software must offer authentication of candidates, coupled with a level of invigilation that can detect potential breaches of assessment conditions.
Further, under Option 2, the approved course provider is expected to meet the conditions set out in Option 1, other than the requirement regarding independent supervision.
Where possible and practicable, the TPB’s preferred option is for an alternate assessment to be conducted either remotely (physically at a location) or through online invigilation (remotely proctored) under the following conditions:
• The alternate assessment assesses the same learning outcomes as the invigilated assessment would have.• The alternate assessment meets the TPB’s requirements regarding independent supervision. This means the
remote or online invigilation is conducted through some form of live invigilation in terms of supervisory oversight.• The approved course provider maintains a record of all individuals completing an alternate assessment through
remote or online invigilation.• The alternate assessment has the same weighting as the invigilated assessment.• The alternate assessment continues to meet TEQSA or ASQA guidelines.
05 | ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE: COVID-19
Tax Practitioners BoardExam requirements for Board approved courses
• The TPB requires that at least 40% of the total assessment for a Board approved course be completed under some form of independent supervision. This requires assessments to be conducted under the supervision of an invigilator.
• Due to the recent impact of COVID-19, the TPB has reviewed this policy. In cases where supervised assessments cannot be conducted in line with the TPB’s existing requirements, the following guidance is provided to all approved course providers.
• These arrangements will remain in place at least for the current study period (semester/trimester).• The TPB will continue to monitor the situation and approved course providers will be notified of any policy changes
should they occur. In particular, the policy will be updated to reflect any alternative arrangements approved by the Board under Option 3.
• This policy applies to all current Board approved courses. As appropriate, the TPB will update its proposed guidelines on Board approved courses to reflect this policy.
Option1
Option2
Option3
5
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
National Tax ClinicThe Australian Taxation Office is seeking interested people to provide feedback into the development of an open competitive grant program for an expanded National Tax Clinic Program, as announced in the 2019-20 MYEFO.
If you would like more information, or to register your interest, please email: [email protected] or contact Kate McCarthy via phone on (07) 3149 5615
FASEA Policy Update: Invigilated Exams interruptions due to Corona Virus Please see below media release from the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority Ltd
17 March 2020
FASEA policy requires that examinations be invigilated and due to the Corona Virus impact we have reviewed this policy. In the case where examinations cannot be conducted as per usual HEP practice the following guidance is provided for all Higher Education Providers offering FASEA approved courses/units.
1. FASEA will allow alternative assessment for the invigilated examination under the following conditions:• The alternative assessment assesses the same learning outcomes as the invigilated examination • Alternative assessments meet TEQSA guidelines • HEPs maintain records of all individuals completing the alternative assessment • The alternative assessment has the same weighting as the invigilated examination
2. FASEA encourages the use of the variety of assessment alternatives available and use of remote proctoring if the HEP has these facilities available within TEQSA guidelines.
Please note this arrangement will be reviewed and HEPs informed of any policy changes. These arrangements are in place for current semester/trimester.
Please note this policy relates to accredited programs only and does not apply to the financial adviser examination.
If you have any questions please contact Howard Cook on:
M: 0423 047 590
Howard Cook Accreditation Manager
JATTA NoticePlease remember that submissions are still open for the 2020 edition of JATTA. We have extended the final submission date until the end of June, so please consider submitting an article for publication. The journal publishes on a diverse range of tax topics – and the article does not need to have been presented at the conference this year.
Please email your submission to John McLaren at: [email protected]
06 | BULLETIN BOARD
Do you have a Bulletin Board item?Please email your Bulletin Board items to the Editor for inclusion in forthcoming editions of ATTA News.
VacanciesWe are pleased to announce that the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, WU is offering a position as a Teaching and Research Associate. The deadline for applications is 3 June 2020.
We would be delighted if you applied for this position and please kindly distribute this announcement to other qualified colleagues.
If you would like to apply, or you know somebody who may be interested for the position please send your application only online under www.wu.ac.at/jobs (Reference Number 645), no later than 3 June 2020.
For more information on the position, please see our website here. Direct your queries to Ms. Theodora Stergidou at [email protected].
6
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
07 | IFA COMPETITIONS 2020
The IFA Australian branch calls for submissions from the Young scholars among us (under the age of 40, or 35) for the following IFA Prizes/Awards for 2020. The deadline for submissions has been extended to 31 May due to COVID-19.
Maurice Lauré Prize
IFA has instituted a Prize in order to encourage scientific work on international indirect taxation. The Prize is named in honour of Maurice Lauré, who was instrumental in the first implementation of the Value Added Tax system, now applied in more than 160 jurisdictions.
Subject: International indirect fiscal law, comparative indirect tax law, or local indirect tax law having an important relation with fiscal law in foreign jurisdictions.
Prize: 5,000 Euros, plus a medal and an invitation to attend the IFA 2020 Congress in Cancun, exempted from the payment of the Congress registration fee, during which the Prize is awarded.
Requirements, conditions and deadlines: IFA website here
IFA President YIN Scientific Award
The IFA President YIN Scientific Award was launched in 2014. This Award shall be awarded for an article published in a qualified medium, furthering the understanding of international fiscal law or comparative tax law, providing practical solutions to problems arising in cross-border transactions or situations.
Subject: Any topic furthering the understanding of international fiscal law or comparative tax law, providing practical solutions to problems arising in cross-border transactions or situations.
Prize: 1,000 Euros, plus a memento, a certificate and an invitation to attend the IFA 2020 Congress in Cancun, exempted from the payment of the Congress registration fee, during which the Prize is awarded.
Requirements, conditions and deadlines: IFA website here
Mitchell B. Carroll Prize
In order to encourage scientific work, the IFA has instituted a Prize as a tribute to its first Honorary President, Mitchell B. Carroll. This Prize is awarded for a work dealing with international fiscal questions, comparative fiscal law or local fiscal law with the emphasis on the relationships with the fiscal law of foreign jurisdictions.
Subject: International fiscal law, comparative tax law, or local tax law having an important relation with fiscal law in foreign jurisdictions.
Prize: 5,000 Euros, plus a medal and an invitation to attend the IFA 2020 Congress in Cancun, exempted from the payment of the Congress registration fee, during which the Prize is awarded.
Requirements, conditions and deadlines: IFA website here
QUT Free ePrints for Case LawQueensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) researchers scan Australia and the world constantly for legal cases that involve important issues concerning charities, nonprofit organisations, philanthropy, gifts and bequests. It will be useful for those that advise nonprofit organisations, their senior management and boards. They are mainly from Australia, but cases of significance from other jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom and USA are also included. The case notes are currently being transferred to QUT ePrints. ePrints is an institutional repository of digital research material of QUT staff and postgraduate students. The papers deposited in QUT ePrints are freely available. You can register on the page for quarterly summaries of the posted cases.
7
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
08 | TAX LAW DEVELOPMENTS
AustraliaCommissioner of Taxation v Israel Discount Bank Limited [2020] FCAFC 71Perram, Gleeson and Lee JJ – 23 April 2020
Catchwords:• Taxation – application for leave to appeal – where primary judge made interlocutory orders requiring Commissioner
of Taxation, a non-party, to provide to the plaintiffs and the Court a redacted copy of a settlement deed – where Commissioner contended that the entirety of the settlement deed was “protected information” as defined in s 355-30 of Sch 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) – where Commissioner contended that s 355-205 precluded the Court from ordering production or disclosure of the settlement deed, even in partially redacted form – where orders requiring production stayed pending determination of the application for leave to appeal
• Practice and procedure – application for leave to appeal interlocutory orders of primary judge – whether the grant of leave would be consistent with overarching purpose and prejudice would be occasioned if leave refused – orders made adjectival to a hearing which has completed – consideration of relevant principles – application dismissed
The court orders that:1. The application for leave to appeal be dismissed with costs.
Mussalli v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 544Jagot J – 28 April 2020
Catchwords:• Taxation – Income tax – Deductibility – Payments made upon entering into lease and licence agreements of franchise
restaurants – Payments described as prepayments of rent – Whether payments were capital in nature or on revenue account – Substance and form – Characterisation of advantage sought – Consideration of general principles – Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) s 8-1 – Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) s 82KZMD
The court orders that:1. The originating application be dismissed.2. The applicant pay the costs of the respondent as agreed or taxed.
O’Neill v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (Cross-vesting) [2020] FCA 484Perram J – 9 April 2020
Catchwords:• Practice and procedure – application for transfer of proceedings under s 5(5) of Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting)
Act 1987 (Cth) to Family Court of Australia – where judicial review proceeding to overturn disallowance of claim for tax withholding credit – where Deputy Commissioner of Taxation has issued garnishee notices for the debt directed at sale proceeds of a property – where new application filed in Family Court for sale of that property – whether matters formed a single justiciable controversy
The court orders that:1. The Second Applicant’s interlocutory application be dismissed.
Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd (trustee) v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCA 559
Thawley J – 28 April 2020
Catchwords:• Taxation – appeal under s 14ZZ of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) – assessment of trustee under s 98 of the
Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) – whether capital gains distributed to a non-resident beneficiary were assessable to the resident trustee – whether capital gains were disregarded under s 855-10(1) of the Income Tax Assessment 1997 (Cth) (ITAA 1997) – where beneficiary deemed to have capital gains under Subdiv 115-C of the ITAA
The court orders that:1. The appeal is dismissed.2. Unless either party applies within 7 days for a different order as to costs, the applicant pay the respondent’s costs.
8
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
New ZealandCOVID-19 Response (Taxation and Other Regulatory Urgent Measures) Act 2020 (NZ)
This omnibus Act, which received Royal Assent on 30 April 2020, aims to assist the Government’s response to impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, including targeted measures providing relief to those who have been economically affected.
Temporary loss carry-back regime
A temporary tax loss carry-back measure will allow businesses that anticipate being in loss in either the 2019–20 or 2020–21 tax year to carry some or all of that loss to the preceding year, if they earned profits in that year. This measure is intended to provide fast cash flow relief for businesses in loss during the period affected by COVID-19. The measure enables tax refunds with respect to profit years to be paid before the loss year has finished. Any business that has losses qualifies for the relief.
Administrative flexibility
The Commissioner of Inland Revenue is granted a temporary discretionary power to modify due dates, timeframes, or procedural requirements for taxpayers who are economically affected by COVID-19. This power applies to requirements specified under the Inland Revenue Acts, or provisions of the Unclaimed Money Act 1971 (NZ). The power supplements existing discretions, notably to remit use of money interest and the Commissioner’s exercise of discretion under the care and management provision.
Small business cashflow scheme
The Commissioner is empowered under the Tax Administration Act 1994 (NZ) to lend money, on behalf of the Crown under the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme. The scheme is being launched by the Government to assist eligible SMEs that have been adversely affected by COVID-19. The Act also amends the Income Tax Act 2007 (NZ) to ensure that conversion of a portion of the loan to a grant will not have adverse income tax implications for the applicant.
Tax and social policy treatment of pension and benefit equivalent payments
The Income Tax Act 2007 (NZ) and Tax Administration Act 1994 (NZ) are amended to ensure that payments made under the COVID-19 New Zealanders Stranded Overseas (‘NZSOS’) programme are subject to the same tax treatment as their standard counterparts. COVID-19 NZSOS payments that are paid in lieu of a main benefit, New Zealand superannuation, and veteran’s pension would be subject to tax and PAYE. COVID-19 NZSOS payments made in lieu of other monetary benefits paid under the Social Security Act 2018 (NZ) (eg, orphan’s benefit and unsupported child’s benefit) would be exempt from tax, consistent with the tax treatment of their standard counterparts.
These changes also ensure there is no change in student loan obligations and entitlement to working for families tax credits. It would ensure that MSD can continue to pay the family tax credit and Best Start credit where the individual would otherwise be eligible.
The Child Support Act 1991 (NZ) is also amended to ensure any COVID-19 NZSOS payments are appropriately considered for child support purposes.
Jonathan Barrett
Peter Greensill Family Co Pty Ltd (trustee) v Commissioner of Taxation (No 2) [2020] FCA 597Thawley J – 5 May 2020
Catchwords:• Practice and procedure – application to review and reconsider reasons for decision and orders made – where judgment
had been delivered and orders entered – application dismissed
The court orders that:1. The interlocutory application is dismissed.2. The applicant pay the respondent’s costs.
Colin Fong
9
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
09 | TAX AND RELATED MEETINGS
DomesticVarious domestic events happening in the foreseeable future are listed below.
14th International Conference on Tax Administration
Provisional Dates: 3-4 November 2020Location: Sydney and OnlineCost: $165 - $1,035Theme: New Frontiers in Tax Administration
We will be back in touch probably around the end of June to confirm the conference is going ahead and open registrations. We will also confirm at that time
if there is a limited opportunity to add some new papers to our program on the experience of responding to the pandemic.
Presenters please note we will be in touch to advise you of the new deadline for papers in case you want to refresh yours to take account of recent extraordinary
developments!
Please hold the dates so you can join us to hear from leading academics, policy makers and practitioners about current and future global trends.
Inaugural Tax Special Interest Group
Scheduled to be held at AFAANZ Conference planned for Melbourne in
2020 has been cancelled and postponed until 2021.
Annual Tax Research Symposium
Normally organised by Griffith University, and held in July, will not
run in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 ATTA Conference
More information on page 2 of this edition of ATTA News.
ANU/Crawford School/TTPI Events
As a precautionary measure and based upon advice from an ANU expert panel, all public and social events at ANU including Crawford School have been cancelled until the end of semester one. This includes events organised by the Tax and Transfer
Policy Institute (TTPI).
The Tax Institute Law Council of Australia Australian Conference Alerts
InternationalVarious international events happening in the foreseeable future are listed below.
21st Global Conference on Environmental Taxation
Date: 24-25 September 2020Location: OnlineCost: UnknownTheme: Environmental Taxation in an Era of COVID-19
5th International Taxpayer Rights Conference
Date: Postponed to 6-7 October 2021Location: Pretoria, South AfricaCost: USD$325 Theme: Taxpayer Rights, Human Rights: Issues for Developing Countries
International Fiscal Association Congress
Date: Postponed to 10-15 September 2022Location: Cancun, MexicoCost: Unknown Theme: TBA
Canadian Tax Foundation Institute for Fiscal StudiesInstitute for Austrian and International
Tax Law
International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation
International Fiscal Association International Tax Planning Association
International Bar AssociationInternational Events and Law
ConferencesPractising Law Institute
American Bar Association New York Bar Association Hieros Gamos Worldwide Law Events
10
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
10 | RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Readers are encouraged to inform the Editor of recently written publications for inclusion in these pages.
DomesticJournal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice2019| Volume 30 | Part 4
ATTA Member contribution(s)• David Morrison and Matthew Broderick - ‘Romalpa
Suppliers and the PPSA – For Better or Worse in Insolvency – Part II’
Australian Law Journal2020 | Volume 94 | Part 4
ATTA Member contribution(s)• Sonali Walpola - ‘The Qualification to the birthright
doctrine and beyond: the judicial attitude to adapting the common law to Australian conditions’
The Conversation
ATTA Member contribution(s) • Neil Warren and Richard Highfield - ‘Post-coronavirus,
we’ll need a working tax system, not more taxes and not higher rates’, 4 May 2020
Articles of Interest• Jonathan Karnon - ‘A temporary income tax hike is the
bitter but equitable pill Australia should swallow’, 15 April 2020
Australian Tax Forum2019 | Volume 34 | Issue 4
ATTA Member contribution(s)• John Azzi - ‘Tax certainty and taxation of international
pension funds: The complicating and costly role of domestic courts’
• Binh Tran-Nam, Lien Nguyen Phuong and Nhung Nguyen Thi Phuong - ‘Determinants of level of taxation: An empirical study of OECD countries from 2006 to 2016’
• Sue Yong, Karen Lo, Brett Freudenberg and Adrian Sawyer - ‘Tax Compliance in the New Millennium: Understanding the variables’
• Richard Vann - ‘In Defence of the Income Tax’
Other Articles• Dean Hanlon and Sean Pinder - ‘The Impact of Australia’s
Income Tax System on Company Ownership Structure’
Tax and Transfer Policy InstituteWorking Papers
Papers of Interest• Marcel van Kints and Robert Breunig - ‘Inflation variability
across Australian households: Implications for inequality and indexation policy’, Paper No 3/2020
• Cain Polidano, Andrew Carter, Marc Chan, Abraham Chigavazira, Hang To, Justin Holland, Son Nguyen, Ha Vu and Roger Wilkins - ‘The ATO longitudinal information files (ALife): A new resource for retirement policy research?’, Paper No 2/2020
Australian Tax Forum2020 | Volume 35 | Issue 1
ATTA Member contribution(s)• Ranjana Gupta - ‘The Case for Tax in Democracies’ • Diane Kraal, Victoria Haritos and Rowena Cantley-Smith
- ‘Tax Law, Policy and Energy Justice: Re-thinking biofuels investment and research in Australia’
• Christina Allen and Richard Krever - ‘Recognising the cost of purchased goodwill’
• John Minas and Brett Freudenberg - ‘Australia’s 50% CGT Discount: Policy Oversight?’
• Alfred Tran and Wanmeng Xu - ‘Book-Tax Relations of Large Australian Companies’
Tax and Transfer Policy InstituteAustaxpolicy.com Blog
ATTA Member contribution(s)• Benjamin Walker - ‘Analysing New Zealand’s Digital
Services Tax Proposal’, 23 April 2020 • Miranda Stewart and Teck Chi Wong - ‘Open Budgets in
the Time of COVID-19’, 30 April 2020
Articles of Interest• Chris Edmond, Steven Hamilton and Bruce Preston -
‘JobKeeper Could Be a Depression Beater’, 9 April 2020• John Hewson - ‘Snap Back to What? We Need a Steady
March to Reform - and a Broader Tax Base’, 14 April 2020• Hayley Fisher and Anna Zhu - ‘The Effect of Welfare
Reforms on Repartnering’, 16 April 2020• Robert Breunig - ‘Let’s Finally Reform the Tax System’ 28
April 2020
Journal of Judicial Administration2020 | Volume 29 | Part 3
ATTA Member contribution(s)• Sarah Murray, Ian Murray and Tamara Tulich - ‘Court
Delay and judicial wellbeing: lessons from self-determination theory to enhance court timeliness in Australia’
11
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
InternationalPlease note some of the overseas publications listed may not yet be available locally. Links have been provided where possible.
OECD Taxation Working Papers
• Hannah Simon and Michelle Harding - ‘What drives consumption tax revenues? Disentangling policy and macroeconomic drivers’, 2 April 2020
International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation
Books of Interest• Joanna Wheeler (ed) - ‘The Aftermath of BEPS’, January 2020Doctoral Series Books of Interest• Renate Buijze - ‘Tackling the international tax barriers to cross-border charitable giving: philanthropy for the arts in the era of
globalization’, January 2020 • Nathalie Bravo - ‘A Multilateral instrument for updating the tax treaty network’, March 2020
WU Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law – Tax Law and Policy Series• Pedro Schoueri - ‘Conflicts of international legal frameworks in the area of harmful tax competition: the modified nexus
approach’, December 2019• Karoline Spies - ‘Permanent establishments in value added tax: the role of establishments in international B2B trade in
services under VAT/GST law’, January 2020• Michael Lang et al (ed) - ‘Tax treaty arbitration’, April 2020
eJournal of Tax Research2020 | Volume 17 | Issue 2
ATTA Member contribution(s)• Rodney Brown, Youngdeok Lim and Chris Evans - ‘The impact of full franking credit refundability on corporate tax
avoidance’• Julie Cassidy, Man Hung Alvin Cheng, Toan Le and Eva Huang - ‘A toss of a (bit)coin: the uncertain nature of the legal
status of cryptocurrencies’• Xuerui (Estelle) Li and Alfred Tran - ‘An empirical study on cross-border profit shifting in Australia’• Annet Wanyana Oguttu and Ann Kayis-Kumar - ‘Curtailing aggressive tax planning: the case for introducing mandatory
disclosure rules in Australia (part 2) – cues from the United Kingdom and South Africa’• Andrew Smith - ‘Cost sharing of pensions paid under the 2001 and 2016 Australia-New Zealand social security
agreements: should it be time for change?’• Victoria Plekhanova - ‘Value creation within multinational platform firms: a challenge for the international corporate tax
system’
11 | CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Global Conference on Environmental Taxation21st Conference - Online
Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 June 2020Conference Dates: Online 24-25 September 2020Theme: Environmental Taxation in an Era of COVID-19
Journal of the Australasian Tax Teachers AssociationVolume 15 | Issue 1
Ranking: BManuscripts Submission Deadline: 30 June 2020Publication Date: November/December 2020
John McLarenAustralian Tax ReviewSpecial Issue: Current Topics in International Taxation
Ranking: AManuscripts Submission Deadline: 15 June 2020Publication Date: November/December 2020
Anthony Ting, Kerrie Sadiq and Dale Pinto
Austaxpolicy.com Blog (Tax and Transfer Policy Institute)TTPI Working Papers and Policy Briefs
Ranking: N/AManuscripts Submission Deadline: ContinuallyPublication Date: Continually
12
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5 | MAY 2020
13 | QUOTABLE QUOTES
“In a world obsessed with travel, trade and technology, the role of corporations in creating and satisfying human needs has never been greater. Yet daily reminders of corporate greed in the form of tax-minimisation, personal data harvesting and outsourcing of jobs to low-cost centres complicate our relationship with global capital.
Interesting, then, to be reminded by William Dalrymple’s new book about the East India Company that this has been the case for more than 400 years. Founded in 1599 with a royal patent affording it a monopoly on trade between Britain and Asia, the EIC was the original, archetypal, rapacious corporate entity.”
Christopher KremmerRead more here: Sydney Morning Herald
“One of the nation’s most respected tax experts and the head of the Australian National University’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Robert Breunig, said stamp duty was an “obvious candidate” for reform.
He has proposed a special tax summit should focus on the economic problems being caused by the way Australia’s current tax system operated. That included the burden of post-virus economic repair falling on
younger people.
“Given the current spirit of bipartisanship evidenced in the passing of pandemic legislation and the formation of a cross-party, state and federal unity government, there is a golden moment to seize,” he said.
“If we can effectively reposition the tax and transfer systems, we will be able to restart the economic engines in a more sustainable manner.””
Shane Wright and Noel TowellRead more here: Sydney Morning Herald
12 | BOOK REVIEW: FUNDAMENTALS OF INCOME TAXATION
Prebble, John with Pearson, Grant Fundamentals of Income Taxation, Thomson Reuters 2018Professor John Prebble QC, an ATTA Hill medal winner, brings over 50 years experience as a tax law academic to his latest book, Fundamentals of Income Taxation. Professor Prebble currently holds a chair at Victoria University of Wellington, while also holding professorial roles at universities in Austria and Australia.
Fundamentals of Income Taxation is a book about the principles of income tax law in New Zealand. Prebble desribes the objective of the book, in its introduction, to set out the basics of income tax law, concentrating on substantive law with little attention to procedural matters. Despite covering the ‘basics’, there is a rich assortment of cases discussed throughout the book, with the main issues and principles established by the case, readily accessible to the reader.
The book has five parts: essentials of income tax and its administration; the characteristics of income; treatment of income in the tax regime; distingiushing capital/revenue and taxable/non-taxable; deductions; and tax avoidance (an introduction). Most of the book deals with principles relating to income and deductions. The focus is mainly on areas where the legislation is less presciptive and common law principles apply to supplement or interpret the Income Tax Act 2007. It is also helpful, in areas, to understand how the legislative provisions evolved from common law principles.
For those of us teaching comprehensive tax courses in New Zealand (or even Australia to some degree), this book is an excellent supplementary text for students to gather a deeper understanding in areas of substantive income tax law, beyond the mainstream textbooks. Although this is a book written for the use of students, it is valuable for anyone with an interest in tax to have on their bookshelves as a reference text.
Alison Pavlovich
13
ATTA NEWS | VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 5| MAY 2020
You are now entering the “Province of pedants”.UNSW LAW JOURNAL
PLEASE CITE RESPONSIBLYSTICKLERS UNITE!”
Sign outside UNSWLJ office, UNSW Law Building
“The federal government is being urged to make tax reform a central plank of the nation’s strategy to reignite growth when the coronavirus threat recedes and social distancing restrictions are lifted.
As planning gets underway on how to reopen the economy without risking a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has fueled debate by nominating tax reform as a key element of the agenda.
In a frank assessment of the economic outlook, Dr Lowe said in the first half of the year the country would suffer the biggest hit to output and income since the 1930s, saddling it with job losses, business closures and debts that are likely to crimp activity for a considerable period.
“Whatever the timing of the recovery, when it does come, we should not be expecting that we will return quickly to business as usual,” the RBA governor said. “Rather, the twin health and economic emergencies that we are experiencing now will cast a shadow over our economy for some time to come.”
The Reserve Bank governor said the “best way” of dealing with these consequences was to reinvigorate the growth and productivity agenda, and nominated tax reform, along with improvements in infrastructure, training, regulation and industrial relations as key areas to be addressed.
In particular, he said “we should be looking again at the way we tax income generation, consumption and land in this country”.”
Adrian RollinsRead more here: Canberra Times